Lisbon Treaty — Referendum — rejected — 5 Mar 2008 at 18:30

The majority of MPs voted against making it necessary to hold a referendum before the Treaty of Lisbon could be inserted into the list of EU treaties in force.[1][2]

The technical process for ratifying the Treaty (which could have been conditional on the referendum) is its mention in the European Union (Amendment) Bill[3]. The Treaty of Lisbon[4][5] would be incorporated into United Kingdom law by inserting it into the list of treaties covered by the European Communities Act 1972,[6] which is the foundation stone of Britain's membership of the EU.

Owing to a 3-line whipped no-vote by their leader, all Liberal Democrat MPs who voted in this division were considered to have rebelled, and those who were front bench spokesmen had to resign from their positions.[7]

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